An Award, a meme, & the weather grumble grumble.

First up, today, Lone Grey Squirrel has given me an Award.
Blogging Mentor. I was very surprised to get this. I do try to encourage others when I can. If there are tips I can pass along I am very happy to do so. I try to be polite. I do delight in reading LGS' posts. He travels about, & has the most interesting of blogs.
Thank you- taking a bow in humble thanks.


I am now supposed to pass this along to 5 other worthy recipients, so here goes.

Sherry at Q's Corner. Her photo graphic skills are wonderful & her words complements to the photos. Sherry is also very polite, & will answer your comments.

Mike, at Tongue in Check. Hilarious, light hearted, & also very polite at answering your comments. A true Gentleman, but don't tell him I said so!

Josie, at C'est la Vie OMG, I have just realised I spelt your blog name incorrectly on my last post Josie. Sorry! You have helped me & encouraged me. Love to visit your posts.

Pauline of Writing down the Words. Pauline has a way of saying things that are just at the back of your mind, unformulated. She does it for you, beautifully.

Ian, of Or so I thought. Ian is a writer... & it shows! He is wonderful to read, & has a nice turn of phrase with the irreverant touches I love.

Obviously there are others out there who are mentors too. I read a lot- some say too many -blogs every day, & can learn something new, ever day.


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I have been nominated for a book meme by Leslie, from the Pedalogue .
I have done a slightly different version of this book meme, 2 posts ago.
As I am reading 6 books at present, it is no task to find another current read & do this version of the meme. For this version, you go to page 123, & write the first 5 sentences.

The book is Bill Bryson's "Down Under".

Page 123

'In Canberra you have the sense of being in a very large green space you cannot ever quite find your way out of; in Adelaide you are indubitably in a city, but with the pleasant option of stepping out of it from time to time to get a breath of air in a spacious green setting. Makes all the difference. The city was laid out as two distinct halves facing each other across the green plain of the Torrens River, with each half fully enclosed by parks. On a map, therefore, central Adelaide forms a large, plump, somewhat irregular figure of eight, with parks creating the figure and the two inner halves of the city filling the holes. It works awfully well.

I had no special destination in mind, but the next morning as I drove into the city from Tanunda I passed through North Adelaide, the handsome and prosperous zone inside the top half of the gigure eight, spotted an agreeable-looking hotel and impetuously threw the car at the kerb.'

I love his long sentences!

I am enjoying the book, but not quite as much as his 'Notes from a Small Island', which is about his travels around England. I have another of his books to read, waiting in the huge TBR pile!

If there is anyone out there who has still not done this, or who would like to, please feel free to share your current read.

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Rhubarb rhubarb. This is the weather. With custard even! Plenty of custard, in the form of wet & more wet. Winds, bursts of little gales. Then the sun comes out. The blue flashes. Puffy innocent clouds scud overhead.

"Ah!", you think to yourself. "This is Autumn. Crisp, sunny, coolish."

"The Epitome of Pleasure!"

Then the clouds thicken up, just like custard. They turn black, like burnt custard. They weep just a little. Then comes another downpour.

Then it all repeats itself. It is like being stuck in a bowl of bloody rhubarb & custard! I never could stand rhubarb! Nor can I stand custard!

BUT... I am not really complaining, because at least it is cool! Which is the main thing for me.

Puffy innocent looking clouds. They can be rhubarb & custard, before you know it!

PS. Who has laughed, along with me, to see dear old Flo BjelkePetersen saying she can't understand anyone saying Joh was a rogue!! Hahaha.


Roy Orbison, Falling

Getting Rusty- & a Meme.

First & foremost, I would like to say a huge "Thankyou" to all of you for your kind Birthday wishes. I had a thoroughly lovely day, & enjoyed every minute of it, right until bedtime.



The Camera God, in the guise of GOM came good with a lovely new camera. Now all I have to do is learn to use it to the best advantage. Friends gave me a book about photography- not knowing I had the new camera!

I was treated to another lunch out, by my daughter, on Wednesday, seeing she had missed my actual birthday. So 3 'girls', Nanna, Daughter J & Granddaughter S went off to lunch. It was an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. We let our hair down! We feasted. We waddled out to the car. I was so satisfied I could not eat any tea!

I had Birthday phone calls from New Zealand.

I had emails from NZ with photos for treats.

This is a pic of BFJ's daughter's new puppy. She is to replace a dearly loved old dog who passed away last year. Who could resist a face like this! Isn't she gorgeous.


She is Jessie.




And here, is a photo of my Beloved Brother, & his handsome Eldest Son, Beloved Nephew D, who is about to be a first time Dad! Woo Hoo, my first Great Nephew!

It seems a long time since I posted. Getting rusty & lazy.

Not much sewing has been done around here for the past 2 days. It has returned to Summer! HOT! Steamy. Makes me want some of the Snow I see in the north of America!

Here is a first attempt at using the new camera.

I had a little grasshopper all lined up, but I got the settings wrong, & I couldn't see the little blighter!

But I did manage to catch Mrs Spider, out of her leaf hideaway. I really tried to capture the spots on her back, but she is very shy.

We had to collect Small Grandson from the school bus yesterday afternoon. He has surprised us all by insisting he is ready to get the bus to & from school, all by himself. He is so proud. He loves everything about school. I hope his enthusiasm remains as he progresses.

When he saw me at the bus stop he came hurtling down the bus steps & flung himself into my arms. I was very conscious of enjoying the moment to the fullest, as I realise he will soon grow out of his unselfconscious joy, & will no doubt retreat into the 'dont kiss me now, someone might see' stage!

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I've been tagged....
....by Katie, of My Sandbox,
It's been fun reading random facts about everyone else!

So here are the rules:

THE RULES:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2.Post THE RULES on your blog.

3.Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

I have actually done this a couple of times before, but here goes again. If I repeat myself & you recall it as a repeat, I apologise.

Perhaps I am running out of weird!!

1. I used to be really scared of spiders, but since I have seen them more closely, I have a respect for them, & try not to harm them. I have found the more I learnt about them, the less afraid I became. If I find a Huntsman in the house, I will try to capture it, to liberate it outside. Huntsman spiders are very large, & rather hairy! I swear they are really intelligent, & know I mean them no harm when I capture them.

2. I love dogs, & wish I could work with them in some capacity. I used to be terrified of them, until my father, who bred working sheepdogs, taught me not to be afraid.

3. I have some hideous itching condition, which I fear is related to our new carpet. The onset of the condition coincided with the laying of the new carpet. I need to have some tests to determine if it is indeed the case. grrrr.

4. I have 2 grandchildren, a girl & a boy. I am very lucky. I keep dreaming of further grandchildren, which I don't think will be the case. I am aware you 'never know what lies ahead'.

5. My hair is still mostly brown, though it is getting more grey sprinkled. I have a strip of hair, at the front left temple, which was always blond when I was young. Now it is grey, & I refer to it as my "Witchy Streak". I can't be bothered with dyes.

6. Around the time of the full moon, I tend to have very vivid dreams. Perhaps I am a Lunatic??

7. I married a man who is the exact opposite on the astrological wheel. We are indeed, Chalk & Cheese.

Ok, this is where I break the rules. I will tag 7 people, but the expectation for them to reply or actually do this meme, is not rigid. I know most people have done this, & find it tiresome to rehash old oddities, however much we might enjoy re-reading them. One can always hope they have developed new oddities in the meantime, of course!

So:

The Sagittarian, of More Canterbury Tales. Such wise wit.

Rosie, of A Bitch About Brittany. Love these glimpses into another space.

Kal, of Trauma Queen. Such an interesting blog.

JulieK at Juliek Quilts. Lovely things to see & read about.

Kitty, at Kittywrinkle. A new aquaintance, but she sure is lovely to meet!

Kim, at Ragged Roses. If you want to see beautiful, & tasteful & talented, go visit Kim!

Leslie, In VanCan. Leslie writes lovely posts, has a great sense of optimism & is worthy of a visit.

Randi Crawford, One Day I'll Fly Away

Stolen Meme

I fell over in our garden this morning, & landed awkwardly, knocking down a trellis, & suffered lumps & bumps, & felt an utter fool! I will have to remember I am not as young as I like to think, & the dud knee WILL let me down!! I need to stop pretending it wont!
Luckily, GOM came to my rescue, as I just thought I would lie there quietly until I could resume thinking. He picked me up, made me a cup of coffee, & told me to rest! Bless him!



I pinched this off Lissa, @ stuffandjunk.

I really enjoyed reading hers, so here goes for mine.


1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before? I sarted a blog!


2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? What New Years Resolutions?? Never make them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No. But I wish someone had!

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit? New Zealand

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? Some cash to flash!

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? My trip to NZ from Nov 18th -Dec 2nd. My brother's 60th Birthday.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I managed to still keep breathing, & laughing... some of the time.

9. What was your biggest failure? Dont regard anything as a failure any more!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Ummm, cant remember...

11. What was the best thing you bought? Some antique hand made lace!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mine -for not strangling the garden vandal!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Where on the world stage would you like me to start... or maybe even closer to home?

14. Where did most of your money go? Just on living. Oh, and the dogs.. always up for thousands of $$$. but for the money, you get unlimited, unconditional LOVE!!


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My trip to NZ & seeing so many people I love.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Leonard Cohen's So Long Marianne.

17. Compared to this time last year are you:
a.happier or sadder? About the same
b.thinner or fatter, Sadly, fatter.
c.Richer or poorer? Same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Laughing. can never get enough!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eating

20. How will you be spending New Years? Well that one is gone... with friends laughing.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006? Same man, same love.

22. How many one night stands? In my dreams?? haha.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Sopranos.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didnt hate this time last year? Why waste energy hating someone??

25. What was the best book you read? Until I find You, by John Irving.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Martha Wainwright

27. What did you want and get? Any thing I got, I wanted.

28. What did you want and not get? Cant have wanted anything bad enough- nothing springs to mind.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? I used to know the anser to this...

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Good grief it was so long ago.. I cant remember. Would have been with family.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Losing some of the weight that has crept up on me.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? HAHAHAHAHAH!

33. What kept you sane? My dogs!

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? What is to fancy about any of them?? None.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The whole damn fake thing!

36. Who did you miss? I wish I could say noone. My mother.

37. Who was the best new person you met? A queston for a fool. You need to get to know someone for them to be 'best'... dont you?

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. The more we are different, the more we are the same.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 'At the age of 37, she realised she'd never ride, through Paris in a sportscar, with the warm wind in her hair'
I think of that song every year, -it encourages me to do things I might not otherwise do.

Now I'll take my lumps & bumps off for another rest!
Hope you all have a great weekend. Shame about the lack of sun for the beachgoers!